Historically, because of its strategic position and "its excellent deep-water port, the city was fiercely contested, especially among Italy, Hungary (serving as the "Kingdom of Hungary's largest and most important port), and Croatia, changing hands and demographics many times over centuries. According to the "2011 census data, the overwhelming majority of its citizens (82.52%) are Croats, along with small numbers of "Bosniaks, "Italians and "Serbs. The city has a strong local sense of identity and the autochthonous inhabitants of Rijeka are referred to as "Fiumans.

Linguistically, apart from Croatian, the population also uses its own unique dialect of the "Venetian language, "Fiumano, with an estimated 20,000 speakers among the autochthonous Croats and various minorities. Historically Fiumano served as a lingua franca for the many ethnicities inhabiting the multiethnic port-town.

Historically, Rijeka was also called Tharsatica, Vitopolis, or Flumen in "Latin. The city is called Rijeka in "Croatian, Reka in "Slovene, and Reka or Rika in the local dialects of the "Chakavian language. It is called Fiume"[ˈfjuːme] in "Italian. All these names mean river in their respective languages.[4][5] Meanwhile, "Hungarian has adopted the Italian name while in "German the city has been called Sankt Veit am Flaum or Pflaum"[pflaʊm].

Rijeka is located in western "Croatia, 131 kilometres (81 miles) southwest of the capital, "Zagreb, on the northern coast of Rijeka Bay (45°21′N14°26′E﻿ / ﻿45.350°N 14.433°E﻿ / 45.350; 14.433), as part of a larger "Kvarner Gulf of the "Adriatic Sea, which is a large bay "Mediterranean Sea most deeply indented to the European mainland. The Bay of Rijeka, which is bordered by Vela Vrata (between "Istria and the island of "Cres), Srednja Vrata (between Cres and "Krk Island) and Mala Vrata (between Krk and the mainland) is connected to the Bay of Kvarner and is deep enough (about fifty metres or 160 feet) for the biggest sailing ships. The City of Rijeka lies at the mouth of river "Rječina and in the "Vinodol micro-region of the Croatian coast. Two important land transport routes start in Rijeka due to its location. The first route is to the "Pannonian Basin given that Rijeka is located alongside the narrowest point of the "Dinaric Alps (about fifty kilometres or 31 miles). The other route, across "Postojna Gate connects Rijeka with "Slovenia, "Italy and beyond.

"Trsat Castle lies at the exact spot of an ancient Illyrian and Roman fortress

Though traces of Neolithic settlements can be found in the region, the earliest modern settlements on the site were "CelticTharsatica (modern "Trsat, now part of Rijeka) on the hill, and the tribe of mariners, the "Liburni, in the natural harbour below. The city long retained its dual character. "Pliny mentioned Tarsatica in his Natural History (iii.140).

In the time of "Augustus, the "Romans rebuilt Tharsatica as a "municipiumFlumen (MacMullen 2000), situated on the right bank of small river "Rječina (whose name means "the big river"). It became a city within the Roman Province of "Dalmatia until the 6th century.

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The "Baroque city clock tower above the arched gateway linking the Korzo to the inner city, designed by Filbert Bazarig in 1876

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Main street Korzo

After the 4th century Rijeka was rededicated to "St. Vitus, the city's "patron saint, as Terra Fluminis sancti Sancti Viti or in German Sankt Veit am Pflaum. From the 5th century onwards, the town was ruled successively by the "Ostrogoths, the "Byzantines, the "Lombards, and the "Avars. "Croats settled the city starting in the 7th century giving it the Croatian name, Rika svetoga Vida ("the river of "St. Vitus"). At the time, Rijeka was a feudal stronghold surrounded by a wall. At the center of the city, its highest point, was a fortress.

Rijeka even rivalled with "Venice when it was purchased by the "Habsburg emperor "Frederick III, "Archduke of Austria in 1466. It would remain under Habsburg overlordship for over 450 years, except for French rule between 1805 and 1813, until its occupation by Croatian and subsequently Italian irregulars at the end of World War I.[6]

After coming under Habsburg rule in 1466, the town was attacked and plundered by Venetian forces in 1509. While "Ottoman forces attacked the town several times, they never occupied it. From the 16th century onwards, Rijeka was largely rebuilt in its present "Renaissance and "Baroque style. Emperor "Charles VI declared the "Port of Rijeka a "free port (together with the "Port of Trieste) in 1719 and had the trade route to "Vienna expanded in 1725.

In the early 19th century, the prominent economical and cultural leader of the city was "Andrija Ljudevit Adamić. Fiume also had a significant naval base, and in the mid-19th century it became the site of the Austro-Hungarian Naval Academy (K.u.K. Marine-Akademie), where the "Austro-Hungarian Navy trained its officers.

"Giovanni de Ciotta (mayor from 1872 to 1896) proved to be an authoritative local political leader. Under his leadership, an impressive phase of expansion of the city started, marked by major port development, fuelled by the general expansion of international trade and the city's connection (1873) to the Austro-Hungarian railway network. Modern industrial and commercial enterprises such as the Royal Hungarian Sea Navigation Company "Adria", and the paper mill, situated in the Rječina canyon, producing cigarette paper sold around the world, became trademarks of the city.

The second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century (up to World War I) was a period of rapid economic growth and technological dynamism for Rijeka. The industrial development of the city included the first industrial scale oil refinery in Europe in 1882[8] and the first "torpedo factory in the world in 1866, after "Robert Whitehead, manager of the "Stabilimento Tecnico Fiumano" (an Austrian engineering company engaged in providing engines for the "Austro-Hungarian Navy), designed and successfully tested the world's first "torpedo.

Rijeka also became a pioneering centre for "high-speed photography. The Austrian physicist Peter Salcher working in Rijeka's Austro-Hungarian Marine Academy took the first photograph of a bullet flying at supersonic speed in 1886, devising a technique that was later used by "Ernst Mach in his studies of supersonic motion.[9]

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Casa Veneziana in Rijeka

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Rijeka on an old postcard

Rijeka's port underwent tremendous development fuelled by generous Hungarian investments, becoming the main maritime outlet for "Hungary and the eastern part of the "Austro-Hungarian Empire, the fifth port in the Mediterranean, after Marseilles, Genoa, Naples and Trieste.["citation needed] The population grew rapidly from only 21,000 in 1880 to 50,000 in 1910. Major civic buildings constructed at this time include the Governor's Palace, designed by the Hungarian architect "Alajos Hauszmann. There was an ongoing competition between Rijeka and Trieste, the main maritime outlet for "Austria – reflecting the rivalry between the two components of the Dual Monarchy. The Austro-Hungarian Navy sought to keep the balance by ordering new warships from the shipyards of both cities.

Apart from the rapid economic growth, the period encompassing the second half of the 19th century and up to World War I also saw a shift in the ethnic composition of the city. The "Kingdom of Hungary, which administered the city during that period, favoured the Hungarian element in the city and encouraged immigration from all lands of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In this period the city became a melting pot encompassing most of the main ethnicities and cultures in empire, being also a main departure port for emigration to the New World. The mixed ethnic composition would open the doors to the controversial "Fiume's Question" in the years following World War I and the demise of the Habsburg Empire. At the last Austro-Hungarian census in 1911, the Corpus Separatum had a population of 49,608 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities:[10]

After a brief military occupation by the Kingdom of Serbs Croats and Slovenes, followed by the unilateral annexation of the former Corpus Separatum by Belgrade, an international force of British, Italian, French and American troops entered the city (November 1918). Its future came under discussion at the "Paris Peace Conference during the course of 1919.[11]

Italy based its claim on the fact that Italians comprised the largest single nationality within the city (65% of the total population). Croats made up most of the remainder and were also a majority in the surrounding area, including the neighbouring town of "Sušak.[12] "Andrea Ossoinack, who had been the last delegate from Fiume to the Hungarian Parliament, was admitted to the conference as a representative of Fiume, and essentially supported the Italian claims. Nevertheless, the city had a strong and very active Autonomist Party, which also had its delegates at the Paris conference and was represented by Ruggero Gotthardi.

Among the many political experiments that took place during this period, d'Annunzio and his men undertook a first attempt to establish a movement of non-aligned nations in the so-called "League of Fiume, an organisation antithetic to the wilsonian "League of Nations, which it saw as a means of perpetuating a corrupt and imperialist status quo. The organisation was aiming primarily at helping all oppressed nationalities in their struggle for political dignity and recognition, establishing links with many movements on various continents, but it never found the necessary external support and its main legacy remains today the Regency of Carnaro's recognition of "Soviet Russia, the first state in the world to have done so.[15][16][17]

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Rijeka in 1937

The "Liberal "Giovanni Giolitti became Premier of Italy again in June 1920; this signalled a hardening of official attitudes to d'Annunzio's coup. On 12 November, Italy and Yugoslavia concluded the "Treaty of Rapallo, which envisaged Fiume becoming an independent state, the "Free State of Fiume, under a government acceptable to both powers.[18] d'Annunzio's response was characteristically flamboyant and of doubtful judgment: his declaration of war against Italy invited the bombardment by Italian royal forces which led to his surrender of the city at the end of the year, after five days' resistance (known as "Bloody Christmas). Italian troops freed the city from d'Annunzio's militias in December 1920.

In a subsequent democratic election the Fiuman electorate on April 24, 1921 approved the idea of a free state of Fiume-Rijeka with an Italo-Fiuman-Yugoslav consortium for the port, giving an overwhelming victory to the independentist Autonomist Party. Fiume became a full-fledged member of the "League of Nations and the ensuing election of Rijeka's first president, "Riccardo Zanella, was met with official recognition and greetings from all major powers. The subsequent formation of a "constituent assembly for the new country did not put an end to strife within the city. A brief Italian nationalist seizure of power ended with the intervention of an Italian royal commissioner, and another short-lived peace was interrupted by a local Fascist putsch in March 1922 which ended with a third Italian intervention to ripristinate the previous order. Seven months later the Kingdom of Italy itself fell under Fascist rule and Fiume's fate was therefore set, the "Italian Fascist Party being among the strongest proponents of the annexation of Fiume to Italy. The Free State of Fiume thus was to officially become the first country victim of fascist expansionism.

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Capuchin Church of Our Lady of Lourdes

This period of diplomatic acrimony closed with the bilateral "Treaty of Rome (27 January 1924), signed by Italy and Yugoslavia. With it the two neighbouring countries were agreeing on invading and partitioning the territory of the small state. Most of the territory of the old Corpus Separatum became part of Italy, while a few northern villages of Croatian-Slovenian language were annexed by Yugoslavia.[19] The annexation happened de facto on the 16th of March 1924, and it inaugurated circa twenty years of Italian government for the city proper.

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The Roman "arch (Rimski luk), the oldest architectural monument in Rijeka and an entrance to the old town

With the "Treaty of Rome (27 January 1924) between the Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the two countries agreed to annex and split the territory of the Free State of Fiume between themselves.[20] The formal annexation (16 March 1924) inaugurated 19 years of Italian fascist rule and the city became the seat of the newly formed "Province of Carnaro. In this period Fiume lost its commercial hinterland and thus part of its economic potential, due to it becoming a border town with little strategic importance for the "Italian Kingdom. But thanks to it retaining the Free Port status, and its iconic image in the fascist nation-building myth it gained many specific concessions from the government in Rome, a separate tax treatment from the rest of the Kingdom and a more humble than in Hungarian times, but continuous inflow of investments from the state. This could still not avoid a substantial slowing of the economic and demographic growth compared to the previous Austro-Hungarian period.

At the beginning of World War II Rijeka immediately found itself in an awkward position. The city was overwhelmingly Italian, but its immediate surroundings and the city of Sušak, just across the "Rječina river (today a part of Rijeka proper) were inhabited almost exclusively by Croatians and part of a potentially hostile power – Yugoslavia. Once the "Axis powers "invaded Yugoslavia in April 1941, the Croatian areas surrounding the city were occupied by the Italian military, setting the stage for an intense and bloody insurgency which would last until the end of the war. "Partisan activity included guerrilla-style attacks on isolated positions or supply columns, sabotage and killings of civilians believed to be connected to the Italian and (later) German authorities. This, in turn, was met by stiff reprisals from the Italian and German military. On 14 July 1942, in reprisal for the killing of 4 civilians of Italian origin by the Partisans, the Italian military killed 100 men from the suburban village of Podhum, resettling the remaining 800 people to concentration camps.[21]

After the "surrender of Italy to the Allies in September 1943, Rijeka and the surrounding territories were occupied by Germany, becoming part of the "Adriatic Littoral Zone. The partisan activity continued and intensified. On 30 April 1944, in the nearby village of Lipa, German troops killed 263 civilians in reprisal for the killing of several soldiers during a partisan attack.[22]

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Transadria building

Because of its industries (oil refinery, torpedo factory, shipyards) and its port facilities, the city was also a target of frequent (more than 30) Anglo-American air attacks,[23] which caused widespread destruction and hundreds of civilian deaths. Some of the worst bombardments happened on 12 January 1944 (attack on the refinery, part of the "Oil Campaign),[24] on 3–6 November 1944, when a series of attacks resulted in at least 125 deaths and between 15 and 25 February 1945 (200 dead, 300 wounded).[25]

The area of Rijeka was "heavily fortified even before World War II (the remains of these fortifications can be seen today on the city outskirts). This was the fortified border between Italy and Yugoslavia which, at that time, cut across the city area and its surroundings. As Yugoslav troops approached the city in April 1945, one of the fiercest and largest battles in this area of Europe ensued. The 27,000 German and additional Italian troops fought tenaciously from behind these fortifications (renamed "Ingridstellung" – Ingrid Line – by the Germans). Under the command of the German general "Ludwig Kübler they inflicted thousands of casualties on the attacking "Yugoslav partisans, which were forced to charge uphill against well-fortified positions to the north and east of the city. Ultimately the Germans were forced to retreat. Before leaving the city, in an act of wanton destruction (World War II was almost over), the German troops destroyed the harbour area and other infrastructure with a number of big explosive charges. However, the German attempt to break out of the partisan encirclement north-west of the city was unsuccessful. Of the approximately 27,000 German and other troops retreating from the city, 11,000 were killed (many were executed after surrendering), while the remaining 16,000 were taken prisoner. Yugoslav troops entered Rijeka on 3 May 1945.[26][27] The city had suffered extensive damage in the war. The economic infrastructure was almost completely destroyed, and of the 5400 buildings in the city at the time, 2890 (53%) were either completely destroyed or heavily damaged.[28]

Aftermath of World War II and Rijeka part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia[edit]

The city's fate was again resolved by a combination of force and diplomacy. Despite the requests of the Fiuman government in exile and the initial promises of large autonomy for the city by the Yugoslav authorities (up to it becoming a Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), the city became part of Yugoslavia (within the federal state of Croatia). The situation was formalised by the "Paris peace treaty between Italy and the wartime Allies on 10 February 1947. Once the change in sovereignty was formalised and in particular in the years leading to the Trieste Crisis of 1954, 58,000 of the 66,000 Italian speakers were gradually pushed to either emigrate (they became known in Italian as esuli or the exiled ones from "Istria, "Fiume and "Dalmatia) or endure a harsh oppression by the new Yugoslav communist regime during the first decade of its existence. In this period the communist party opted for a more "Stalinist approach in solving the local ethnic question, after the Autonomist-sympathisers gained massive support in the first post-war elections held on the city's territory.

The discrimination and persecution many inhabitants experienced at the hands of the Yugoslav officials in the last days of World War II and the first years of peace still remain painful memories for the exiles and somewhat of a taboo for Rijeka's political milieu, which is still mostly denying the events.[29] Summary executions of alleged fascists (often well-known anti-fascists or openly apolitical), aimed at hitting the local intellectual class, the Autonomists, Italian public servants, military officials and even ordinary civilians (at least 650 executions of "Italians took place after the end of the war[30]), and forced most ethnic Italians to leave Rijeka/Fiume in order to avoid becoming a victim of harsher retaliation. The removal was a meticulously-planned operation, aimed at convincing the hardly assimilable Italian part of the autochthonous population to leave the country, as testified decades later by representatives' of the Yugoslav leadership.[31]

In the subsequent years the Yugoslav authorities joined the municipalities of Fiume and Sušak and after 1954 less than one third of the original population of the now united municipalities (mostly the ethnic Croats) remained in the city. The old municipality of Fiume lost in these years more than 85% of the original population. Subsequently, the city was resettled by many immigrants from various parts of Yugoslavia, changing heavily the city's demographics and its linguistic composition. This years coincided also with a period of reconstruction and new industrialisation. During the period of the "Yugoslav communist administration in the 1950s–1980s the city became the main port of the Federal Republic and started to grow once again both demographically and economically thanks to the fact it got once again a solid hinterland, as well as the refurbishing of its traditional manufacturing industries after the war, its maritime economy and its port, now the largest in the country. It soon became the second richest (GDP per capita) district of "Yugoslavia. Many of these industries were a product of a socialist planned economy and the unique Yugoslav cooperative model, and they have not been able to adapt when the economy transitioned to a fully market-oriented model in the early 1990s, not last due to many cases of embezzlement and corruption during the hastened privatisation process in the newly formed Republic of Croatia.

Thus in 1991 Yugoslavia broke apart, and the federal state of "Croatia became independent during the "Croatian War of Independence. Since then, the city has stagnated economically and its demography has plunged. Some of its largest industries and employers went out of business (among the most prominent the Jugolinija shipping company, the torpedo factory, the paper mill and many other medium or small manufacturing and commercial companies, often in the midst of big corruption scandals and a badly planned privatization). Others are struggling to stay economically viable (like the city's landmark "3. Maj shipyards). The city passed from more than 80,000 workers in production to only 5,000 within two decades. A difficult and uncertain transition of the city's economy away from manufacturing and towards the service industry and tourism is still in progress.

The Rijeka Carnival Croatian: Riječki karneval) is held each year before Lent (between late January and early March) in Rijeka, Croatia. Established in 1982, it has become the biggest carnival in Croatia. Every year there are numerous events preceding the carnival itself. First the mayor of Rijeka gives the symbolic key of the city to Meštar Toni, who is "the maestro" of the carnival, and he becomes the mayor of the city during the carnival, although this is only figuratively. Same day, there is an election of the carnival queen. As all the cities around Rijeka have their own events during the carnival time, Queen and Meštar Toni are attending most of them.

Also, every year the Carnival charity ball is held in the Governor's palace in Rijeka. It is attended by politicians, people from sport and media life, as well as a number of ambassadors.

The weekend before the main event there are two other events held. One is Rally Paris – Bakar. (after the "Dakar rally). The start is a part of Rijeka called Paris after the restaurant located there, and the end is in city of Bakar, located about 20 kilometres (12 miles) south east. All of the participants of the rally wear masks, and the cars are mostly modified old cars. The other event is the children's carnival, held, like the main one, on Rijeka`s main walkway Korzo. The groups that participate are mostly from kindergartens and elementary schools, including groups from other parts of Croatia and neighboring countries. In 1982 there were only three masked groups on Rijeka`s main walkway Korzo. In recent years, the international carnival has attracted around 15,000 participants from all over the world organized in over 200 carnival groups, with crowds of over 100,000.[32]

The following tables list the city's population, along with the population of ex-municipality (disbanded in 1995), the urban and the metropolitan area.

Year

City Proper

Municipality

Urban

Metro

2011

128,624

185,125

213,666

245,054

2001

144,043

191,647

220,538

252,933

1991

165,904

206,229

236,028

268,016

1981

158,226

193,044

222,318

251,768

Population

Area (km2)

Density

City proper

128,624

44

2,923

Ex-municipality

56,501

473

119

Subtotal

185,125

517

358

Urban area

28,541

308

93

Subtotal

213,666

825

259

Metro area

31,388

840

37

Total

245,054

1,665

147

Ex-municipality: consists of other cities and municipalities (outside Rijeka city proper) in a former official union of adjacent settlements which was disbanded in 1995. It includes cities and municipalities of "Kastav, "Viškovo, "Klana, "Kostrena, "Čavle, "Jelenje, "Bakar and "Kraljevica.

Urban area: considered as adjacent area. It includes the ex-municipality along with cities and municipalities of "Opatija, "Lovran, "Mošćenička Draga and "Matulji, which form urban agglomeration.

Tvornica "Torpedo" (the Torpedo factory). The first European prototypes of a self-propelled torpedo, created by "Giovanni Luppis, a retired naval engineer from Rijeka. The remains of this factory still exist, including a well-preserved launch ramp used for testing self-propelled torpedoes on which in 1866 the first torpedo was tested.

Svetište Majke Božje Trsatske – the Sanctuary of "Our Lady of Trsat. Built 135 m (443 ft) "above sea level on the Trsat hill during the late Middle Ages, it represents the Guardian of Travellers, especially seamen, who bring offerings to her so she will guard them or help them in time of trouble or illness. It is home to the Gothic sculpture of the Madonna of Slunj and to works by the Baroque painter C. Tasce.

"Trsat Castle, a 13th-century fortress, which offers magnificent vistas from its bastions and ramparts, looking down the "Rječina river valley to the docks and the "Kvarner Gulf.

Old gate or Roman arch. At first it was thought that this was a Roman Triumphal Arch built by the Roman Emperor "Claudius Gothicus but later it was discovered to be just a portal to the "pretorium, the army command in late antiquity.

The terrain configuration, with mountains rising steeply just a few kilometres inland from the shores of the "Adriatic, provides for some striking climatic and landscape contrasts within a small geographic area. Beaches can be enjoyed throughout summer in a typically "Mediterranean setting along the coastal areas of the city to the east (Pećine, Kostrena) and west ("Kantrida, Preluk). At the same time, the ski resort of "Platak, located only about 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) from the city, offers "alpine skiing and abundant snow during winter months (at times until early May). The "Kvarner Bay and its islands are visible from the ski slopes.[34] Rijeka has a "Humid subtropical climate with warm summers and relatively mild and rainy winters. Snow is rare (usually three days per year, almost always occurring in patches). There are 20 days a year with a maximum of 30 °C (86 °F) or higher, while on one day a year the temperature does not exceed 0 °C (32 °F).[35] Fog appears in about four days per year, mainly in winter.[35] The climate is also characterized by frequent rainfall. Cold ("bora) winds are common in wintertime.

The "Port of Rijeka is the largest port in Croatia, with a cargo throughput in 2017 of 12.6 million tonnes, mostly crude oil and refined petroleum products, general cargo and "bulk cargo, and 210,337 "Twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).[38] The port is managed by the Port of Rijeka Authority. The first record of a port in Rijeka date back to 1281, and in 1719, the Port of Rijeka was granted a charter as a "free port. There are ferry connections between Rijeka and the surrounding islands and cities, but no direct international passenger ship connections. There are coastal lines to "Split and onward to "Dubrovnik, which operate twice weekly and have international connections.

The city is difficult to get to by air outside of the tourist season. The city's own international airport, "Rijeka Airport is located on the nearby island of "Krk across the tolled Krk Bridge. Buses, with a journey time of approximately 45 minutes, operate from Rijeka city center and nearby "Opatija, with a schedule based on the planned arrival and departure times of flights. Handling 142,111 passengers in 2017, the facility is more of a charter airport than a serious "transport hub, although various scheduled airlines have begun to service it with a comparatively large number of flights coming from airports in "Germany. Most of these flights only operate during the toursit season between approximately May and October. Alternative nearby airports include "Pula (90 minutes drive from Rijeka) and "Zagreb (around 2.5 hours).

Rijeka has efficient road connections to other parts of Croatia and neighbouring countries. The "A6 motorway connects Rijeka to "Zagreb via the "A1, while the "A7 motorway, completed in 2004, links Rijeka with "Ljubljana, Slovenia, via "Ilirska Bistrica and with "Trieste, Italy. The A7 acts as the Rijeka bypass motorway and facilitates access to the "A8 motorway of the "Istrian Y network starting with the "Učka Tunnel, and linking Rijeka with "Istria. As of August 2011, the bypass is being extended eastwards to the "Krk Bridge area and new feeder roads are under construction.

Rijeka is integrated into the "Croatian railway network and international rail lines. A fully electrified railway connects Rijeka to Zagreb and beyond towards "Koprivnica and the Hungarian border as part of "Pan-European corridor Vb. Rijeka is also connected to Trieste and Ljubljana by a separate electrified line that extends northwards from the city. Rijeka has direct connections by daily trains to Vienna, Munich, and Salzburg, and night trains running through Rijeka. Construction of a new high performance railway between Rijeka and Zagreb, extending to Budapest is planned, as well as rail links connecting Rijeka to the island of Krk and between Rijeka and "Pula.

The history of Rijeka's organised sports started between 1885 and 1888 with the foundation of the Club Alpino Fiumano in 1885, the Young American Cycle Club in 1887 (the first club of this American league to be founded in a foreign land), and the Nautico Sport Club Quarnero in 1888 by the Hungarian minority of the city. Even earlier, in 1873, following the initiative by Robert Whitehead, the first "football match to be disputed in today's Republic of Croatia territory was played in Rijeka: the Hungarian Railways team and the English engineers-led team of the Stabilimento Tecnico di Fiume (later Torpedo Factory of Fiume). The first football club in Fiume was founded under the name of Fiumei Atletikai Club.

Rijeka hosted the "2008 European Short Course Swimming Championships. In its more than 80 years of history, LEN had never seen so many records set as the number of them set at Bazeni Kantrida (Kantrida Swimming Complex). A total of 14 European Records were set of which 10 World Records and even 7 World Best Times. This championship also presented a record in the number of participating countries. There were more than 600 top athletes, from some 50 European countries. Swimmers from 21 nations won medals and 40 of the 51 national member Federations of LEN were present in Rijeka.